U Village May Find Space For Gap -- Office Depot May Also Replace Bowling Alley

University Village is getting ready to roll out the welcome mat for The Gap and possibly gain a flashy neighbor - Office Depot.

The casual clothing chain is expected to be the third major tenant at the site formerly occupied by Lamonts, which lost its lease at the end of October. The site is being remodeled for a 19,000-square-foot Eddie Bauer complex - the largest in the Northwest, and a 44,000-square-foot Barnes & Noble bookstore, both expected to open this summer.

University Village manager Jocelyn Clements said she could not comment on the report. "Nothing is signed with anybody yet," she said.

Merchants reported that at a meeting with Village management yesterday morning, The Gap was penciled onto drawings shown to merchants. But merchants were told the deal wasn't yet official.

Also in the works is a possible move by Office Depot onto the site adjoining the Village occupied since 1958 by Village Bowling Lanes. Office Depot, a 350-store chain, reportedly intends to demolish the bowling alley building and replace it with a 28,000-square-foot store and 74 spaces for parking.

Office Depot has reportedly optioned the land, owned by the operators of the bowling alley, pending approval of its development plans by the city. The project has aroused some neighborhood concerns that a warehouse-style merchant would add too much traffic. A spokesman for Delray, Fla.,-based Office Depot could not be reached for comment.

The city will hold a meeting on the Office Depot proposal tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, 6535 Ravenna Ave. N.E.

Tom Croonquist, development manager for University Village Partnership, owners of University Village, said his group would not oppose Office Depot's plans but would work to make sure the development is sensitive to the character of the mall. He said his partnership had been interested in buying the Village Lanes property but the talks never became formal discussions.

The owners of the Village seem to be reviewing a number of other changes at the mall. One tenant, Ram Cafe & Sports Bar, wants to expand and add a microbrewery but hasn't been able to schedule talks yet with Village owners, said Cal Chandler, co-owner of the 21-restaurant chain, Ram International. Chandler said there is speculation that the owners want to add Italian and Asian-style restaurants to the mall.

The Gap deal would add another national retailer to an upscale neighborhood shopping center that has been dominated for decades by small, merchant-run shops. Still, University Village co-owner Stuart Sloan, the chairman of QFC, has said owners are intent on keeping local merchants and maintaining the open-air, leisurely, "village" feeling to the shopping center.

There's some disagreement over what constitutes a "local" merchant. Sloan contends that even Eddie Bauer and Starbucks, which opened a 3,300-square-foot flagship store in University Village in July, are "local" merchants because they're based in Washington - even though they have outlets around the country.

The Eddie Bauer complex will include three businesses under one roof - Eddie Bauer sportswear, Eddie Bauer Home store and the newest division, A.K.A. Eddie Bauer, which features men's and women's casual clothing for the office.